Late-Night Eats (Part 1)

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I am not a night owl. I am whatever is asleep when owls are flying around that gets eaten, mid-nap, and dies without ever even knowing the end was near. But I understand that night owls exist and sometimes they get tired of eating voles or marmots or McGriddles and they crave something different.

Venerable Edna’s bouncer, The Door, is a night owl. And he slid all the way into my DMs to ask me a favor.

Heck yeah I’ll write about late night eats. I won an award for writing about late night eats! No really!

But I’ve got some great news for The Door, and anything else god might close before opening a window: Oklahoma City has got some CRAZY GOOD late-night options, even on Monday nights (one of his nights off).

In fact, I’ve found so many great spots, I’m going to have to break this feature up into a few parts to fit them all in.

Chick-n-Beer

Home to some exceptional hot wings (even, shockingly, the boneless variety), Chick-n-Beer keeps the kitchen running until 11 p.m. So grab a wad of napkins and get ready to get messy late into the evening.

Empire Slice House

1734 NW 16th St.

Nobody should be surprised to see Empire Slice House on this list. Both the original and the Easy E Slice Shop are open until 10 p.m. with full-pie orders accepted until 9:45 p.m. Basically, there’s no excuse for you not to stuff your gullet with expertly made pizza.

Goro Ramen

Another Plaza District spot (it’s almost like the young people enjoy eating and drinking at night), Goro serves delicious bowls of broth and noodles, as well as some banging appetizers and steamed buns, until 11:45 p.m. Just do yourself a favor and pop a Prilosec if you opt for the chili bomb add in.

Guyutes

Guyutes’ kitchen stays open until 1:30 a.m. every night unless the restaurant is closed, which is, like, twice a year. That means pizzas, burgers, salads, those ridiculous tequila sunfryz and everything else on the menu just waiting to soothe your munchies. And while you’re there, you know, have a beer.

Hudsons Public House

27 E. Sheridan Ave.

I deeply, deeply appreciate the folks at Hudson’s Public House for going non-smoking. Some of you smoke, and that’s fine, but the wall-to-wall tobacco stank kept me out of Hudsons for years. Now you can enjoy sports, beers and a big old menu of tasty burgers, wraps, entrees and more until 11 p.m. without going home smelling like Don Draper’s office cushions.

Ludivine

805 N. Hudson Ave.

Late-night food is often pigeon-holed as unhealthy or uncouth fare, but Ludivine — one of the bright, shining lights of the OKC food scene, keeps serving until 10 p.m. Because if there’s a reason to be awake after 9:30 p.m., it better be that I’m eating roasted bone marrow out of a femur like the Crown Prince of Bonesylvania.

Mary Eddy’s Kitchen x Lounge

900 W. Main St.

Hotel restaurants tend to stay open late, what with people sleeping there, but that’s an extra special treat for us locals visiting Mary Eddy’s Kitchen x Lounge at the 21c Hotel. The restaurant proper stays open until 9:30 p.m., but there’s a special bar menu of tasty gourmet treats available until midnight.

The Mule

1630 N. Blackwelder Ave.

I am shocked, I say, shocked to find another Plaza District restaurant on this list. But how are we going to talk about late night grub and not include The Mule? For melted sandwiches (aka grilled cheese, etc.), you can either do a poor job at home or let the experts make you a sammy so delicious, I once saw Wayne Coyne himself break down into tears. Or it was just a dude with glitter makeup. Regardless, the kitchen is open until 10 p.m.

Republic Gastropub

5830 N. Classen Blvd.

If you like sports on TVs that bend the imagination and/or find it entertaining to watch the kids on Classen Curve fail hard at a Tinder date, grab yourself a delicious dinner at Republic Gastropub. The kitchen is open until 11 p.m. and, while the food is draw enough for me, it’s sometimes fun to see a Chad get ghosted within minutes of meeting his date.

Scratch Kitchen and Cocktails

605 NW 28th St.

This new addition to the Paseo Arts District (a third restaurant in the growing Scratch empire) serves the full menu of exquisite entrees like steak frites and ratatouille until 10 p.m., then follows up with a late-night menu until midnight. Remember when the only thing you could eat after 10 p.m. was Whataburger? Yeah, not so much anymore.

La Tropicana Tacos y Mas

3903 S. Western Ave.

Tropicana was one of the best open-late taquerias before they moved, and now they’re one of the best open-late taquerias that is really nice and has easy-to-find parking. Open until 1 a.m., this is a great spot for tacos filled with asada, barbacoa, al pastor and more. Or if you’re pre-treating a hangover, grab a bowl of posole.

Whiskey Cake

1845 NW Expressway

Did your movie get out late or are you just happy to see me? Oh. The movie one. Got it. Well, whatever the reason you’re at Whiskey Cake, rejoice, because the kitchen keeps serving until 11 p.m. There’s a bevy of sandwiches and appetizers, but it’s also a chance to have a really great entree for when your munchies turn to hangries.

Got a tip for other great late-night eats? Leave them in the comments and they might just make it into the next edition.

About the Author

Founder and Eater-in-Chief of I Ate Oklahoma, Greg Elwell has been reviewing restaurants and writing about Oklahoma’s food culture for more than a decade. Where a normal person orders one meal, this guy gets three. He is almost certainly going to die young and those who love him most are fairly ambivalent about it. You can email Greg at greg@iateoklahoma.com.